Early exit for Maria Sharapova as she makes 52 unforced errors

Maria Sharapova made an incredible 52 unforced errors as she suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Monica Niculescu at the Qatar Open.
The five-times Grand Slam winner won the opening set, but then crashed to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, defeat in two hours 38 minutes against the Romanian qualifier.
Niculescu, ranked No 91 in the world, put her sliced forehand to good use and she kept her unforced error count to just 17 while she also fired 12 winners.
“I love it how I play and I like to be unique and I think my slice forehand is a weapon,” the 30-year-old said.
“And when I feel good on the court then I play relaxed, I can be good and can be dangerous.”
Sharapova, by her lofty standards, had a shocker as she produced 52 unforced errors and 11 double faults.
“I did a good job of winning the longer rallies, even though that’s not really what I wanted to get myself into,” the Russian said.
“So, physically I felt good. I just got pretty passive in the end and starting making too many errors.”
Niculescu will play either Magdalena Rybarikova or wildcard Fatma Al-Nabhani in the next round.
Former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova, seventh seed Caroline Garcia as well as Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Anna Blinkova also advanced.
Latest
-
Tennis News
Rafael Nadal surgery shows ‘he still wants to compete’
Rafael Nadal “still wants to find solutions for his injury” and return to action.
-
French Open
Elena Rybakina latest to succumb to ‘virus here in Paris’ as she pulls out of French Open
A virus forced the fourth seed out minutes before her third-round match.
-
French Open
Cameron Norrie rues his poor attitude – ‘I’m disappointed’
“There is no excuses to play the level that I did,” says Cameron Norrie.
-
French Open
Follow the 2023 French Open with T365’s scores and results centre…
Catch the action from Roland Garros…
-
French Open
Novak Djokovic baffled by French Open booing – ‘I don’t want to make enemies’
“I double fault and they boo, I take a medical timeout and they boo.”
-
French Open
Carlos Alcaraz hopes F1 great Fernando Alonso joins him on No 33
Fernando Alonso to join Carlos Alcaraz on No 33?
-
French Open
French Open day six: Stefanos Tsitsipas’ unreal shot of the day, Taylor Frits earns Mac approval
A look back at the latest action from Roland Garros.
-
French Open
New Novak Djokovic conspiracy theories floated as he hits out at ‘disrespect’
Novak Djokovic’s biggest gripe was with the French Open fans.
-
French Open
Rafael Nadal’s shocking rankings drop confirmed as he undergoes surgery
Provisional rankings list suggests Rafael Nadal will drop to a position in the mid-130s in the ATP list.